This film features practitioners from a variety of consortia talking about their experiences of teaching the Diploma in Environmental and Land-based Studies. With the potential to open doors to the world of work or higher education, it shows how the qualification differs from other courses. It also highlights the support available to practitioners through Diploma Support.
Narrator: The Diploma is new qualification for 14 to 19 year olds. It's based on applied learning, so as well as theoretical study, learners experience environmental and land based studies in a business and industry setting. They have a chance to work with employers and complete realistic projects to help them develop the skills to get a job or move on to higher education.
Female voice 1: The age that these students are at, they don't really know what their eventual career route may be and I think what we want to enable them to do is to make a very informed decision when that time actually comes.
Male voice 1: The opportunity to meet employers makes them feel like their education has a purpose. The fact that the learning crosses into English and Maths, Science and IT gives those subjects a greater sense of purpose to them as well.
>>Narrator: The Diploma in Environmental and Land Based Studies is different. Its breadth opens up opportunities to a wide range of jobs and links to other lines of learning. It includes hot topics such as the environment, sustainability and waste management, issues which really concern young people.
Female voice 2: The Diploma itself isn't just about land based, its environment and land based and it covers 17 different industries. It covers things from environmental analysis, renewable energy as well as plants and animals.
Male voice 2: It's critical that we get a better understanding in the community of what water and waste water services mean, what environmental protection involves, conservation work. All of those things aren't well understood, people are very, very focused on immediate issues and for careers people need the opportunities to look further our field, understand more, and thats why were doing it.
>>Narrator: As a Diploma practitioner you'll work with employers to design programs, so learners benefit from industry expertise and real experience of working in their chosen field.
Female voice 3: There's no point during work the experience and not including the employer because that makes it a non entity so by strong links through the functional skills of help and the work experience of the extended project encompasses it all.
Female voice 4: I think its a fantastic opportunity really for the people like the wildlife justice because we are a charity and we depend very highly on volunteers and we manage quite a lot habitat out in Dorset, some coastal land, some heath land, some hay meadow. We've got our own working farm with livestock.
Male voice 3: Today we've learned a lot more than what we normally do reading text by seeing them in real life and having a proper presentation to make things more fun.
Male voice 4: We've been doing a lot about plant biology and I think bringing a specialist in just really solidifies it in your brain you've the got hands on experience to refer back to in your memory when youre doing your revision for assignments and stuff like that.
>>Narrator: Many practitioners are already delivering or preparing their Diploma programme. Networks and online communities are an easy way for them to keep in touch, discuss what works and collaborate on teaching and learning.
Male voice 5: You can have the national communities, you can have the regional communities and it just shows how best practice can be shared amongst teachers and practitioners.
Female voice 5: I think networking is really important and it's just the chance for teachers to share their ideas, good practice, what works with them, what doesnt work.
Female voice 6: We're involved in these regional networks, which are a wealth of information, expertise. You have employers, universities, all the key stakeholders involved.
>>Narrator: There's a free support programme to help you deliver your Diploma with a dedicated website, www.Diploma-support.org. It has online training, materials for your line of learning and case studies where you can find out how other practitioners have worked with employers.
Male voice 6: Personalising the website enables you to keep up to date with your own to continual professional development. You're able to access all the training thats available and book directly online.
>>Narrator: You'll find teaching resources posted by other practitioners, details of events you can attend and online communities you can join.
Female voice 7: If I was to give one bit of advice to people starting on the Diploma I'd say get involved with other people whove already done it. Make links with other practitioners, make links with your local networks, your online communities and really get out there and start talking to people, thats whats going to help you most.
Male voice 7: This is our opportunity as businesses to get involved in young peoples life and get more people of the kind that we want actually joining our businesses.
Male voice 8: It is a different way of working. It is a different way of learning. We have greater expectations for the way our students interact with the employers.
Male voice 9: We're trusted to find out our own information and then if we dont do that, we realise what happens when you dont do that and its not "Oh I let you off, we can try that again". It's preparing for the future and like give me a taste of what is going to be like.
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